# Am I alergic to walnuts?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-alergic-to-walnuts/240288>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 16, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-alergic-to-walnuts/240288 "2004-04-16T02:04:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-alergic-to-walnuts/240288/1 "2004-04-16T02:04:32Z")

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If I eat a couple handfulls of walnuts, I get a sore tongue. Am I alergic or are walnuts particularly acidic? Anyone else experience soreness in the mouth while eating walnuts?

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**Author:** ![IrreverentTone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@IrreverentTone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IrreverentTone)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-alergic-to-walnuts/240288/2 "2004-04-16T02:55:49Z")

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Both my sister and I have the same problem. A single walnut will give me that tongue burn feeling, while she has to eat a number of them to get the effect. We were both teenagers when it started happening. I don’t think that it’s an allergy since the only problem is the tongue pain. More just a sensitivity.

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**Author:** ![Blornx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@Blornx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blornx)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-alergic-to-walnuts/240288/3 "2004-04-16T15:26:09Z")

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I consider myself mildly allergic to walnuts; when I eat cookies laced with chopped walnuts my inner ears hurt for a few hours. It’s not with any other type of nuts, and I’ve never heard of anyone else having this problem.

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**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-alergic-to-walnuts/240288/4 "2004-04-16T16:08:16Z")

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> [@Khadaji](#):
>
> If I eat a couple handfulls of walnuts, I get a sore tongue.

Perhaps you are mildly allergic. If you think that you might be allergic, you should see a doctor and get tested. Allergies can get worse over time and what may be a sore tongue today could be a swollen airway tomorrow.